conservation of vast priority places like the Amazon, Congo and Arctic

conservation of a priority species, the tiger

changing the minds and actions of key stakeholders for critical issues such as climate change, commodity production & sourcing, and overfishing

How they work

These long-term initiatives strengthen and bring together the many strands of our work – creating synergies and applying pressure and expertise where it is needed the most.

Building on our past work, they aim to accelerate and magnify large conservation wins across our priority species, places and footprint areas – and so achieve the necessary "transformational change" to achieve our twin goals of conserving biodiversity and reducing humanity's impact on nature.

Each one taps into WWF's ability to forge collaborative, creative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature – our local credibility and our global reach, our deep expertise, our access to decision-makers, and our partners.

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An Amazon-sized Initiative

The world’s largest expanse of tropical rainforest – home to at least 10 per cent of the world’s known species and more than 30 million people – forms the focus of one of our ambitious initiatives.

WWF has already played a unique role in conserving the Amazon over the past 40 years, developing scientific knowledge, experience, and key partnerships with local,regional, and international players.

We have invested more than US$30 million in conservation in the region since 2001 and are working with the government of Brazil and other partners on the Amazon Region Protected Areas Programme (ARPA), which has already helped create more than 20 million hectares of protected areas since 2002.

We have also helped with sustainable management of natural resources and improved conditions for the people who rely on them, for example by developing FSC-certified forestry and forest management, successfully lobbying for tighter international trade regulations for big-leaf mahogany, and promoting sustainable freshwater fisheries.

Building on this solid foundation, in 2007 we launched a ten-year Amazon Initiativeto vastly scale up our efforts.

By forming powerful partnerships with diverse partners – Amazonian governments, aid agencies, local communities, local and multinational businesses, other conservation organizations, and research institutions – we seek to conserve the entire Amazon Basin through a combination of good governance, clear land tenure, sustainable commodity production, forest-friendly infrastructure development, and biodiversity conservation.

These efforts will ensure the survival of Amazon species and ecosystems – and so the continued provision of environmental goods and services that sustain people and economies locally, regionally, and in the wider world.

Sufficient forest cover will also maintain regional rainfall and build resilience to climate change, ensuring a healthy Amazon that will continue to regulate both the regional and global climate.